I'm old. Which for the most part sucks more with every passing year but I will tell you guys right now, growing up in the 80s was fucking awesome. Baggy pants, (the first time they were fashionable), TVs bigger than fridge freezers, bad hair, worse fashion... yes there was plenty wrong with the 80's but damn it in terms of films it was fantastic. Thanks to the likes of Arnie, Stallone, Van Damme and a truckload more, action heroes were living the glory days. Skip to present day and the muscle-bound, one liner spouting killing machines are seen more in parody than anything else and maybe that's a good thing. Here we have a game that celebrates these old action heroes and at the same time knows not to take itself too seriously.

Broforce is a sideways scrolling shooter using pixel assets and an almost completely destructible environment. From the outset, the game makes no apologies for being over the top and throwing cliche after cliche your way. As you progress through the levels you unlock new playable characters, each one based on a well-known action hero with a 'Bro' thrown into the name for good measure. This thankfully does not exclude the female action heroes of yesteryear and what action hero list would be complete without Ellen 'Bro' Ripely from Aliens?

The game opens with terrorists as its general enemy, from AK47 toting soldiers, suicide bombers and steroid enhanced dudes with powerful machine guns. As you select theatres of war from the globe you fight through several levels before encountering a boss fight: which like the rest of the game is over the top and a real nod to boss battles in many older games.

As I have mentioned the levels can be pretty much obliterated and this is often part of the games charm. Working your way through certain situations can be made infinitely more fun by using the environment to your advantage. Setting off gas tanks can send them hurtling through the ground towards unsuspecting enemies, red barrels explode taking out both the ground and anything else around them. Enemies also explode, burn and expire in the most satisfying ways, it sometimes looks like a bomb has gone off in a red paint factory with blood and Gibbs covering the screen in a cacophony of death.

Quote: This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultraviolence.A Clockwork Orange

A particular set of skills

When you start a level you have one life. As you rescue prisoners you will either change into another 'Bro' or unlock a new one (and gain one life). If you are killed you will use one life and carry on as a different Bro. One of the best parts of the game for me is how each Bro has a skill set that fits with the action hero they are based on. Mr Anderbro (Neo), for example, can slow down time while punching everything into a pulp, The Brominator comes with a mini-gun and the Bro based on the predator has spears and a shoulder cannon. There are also some nice little touches, such as when the predator gets killed he has activates a self-destruct like in films. Brade (Blade) and Neo also have far more speed and agility which allows them to attack in different ways to say Ram'Bro', Brobocop or Bro Dredd who go in guns blazing.

I really enjoy how spry your characters are and this also adds to how you can end up pulling off some pretty spectacular feats of destruction. You can jump and then latch onto walls, climb and even start tunnelling your way through dirt and rock. There is also a nifty little flip for getting up ledges and sheer climbs but this takes practice. I have decided not to reveal the enemies you will face in the second and third phase of the game, mainly because it was a nice surprise for me and I don't want to spoil that for you guys: just know you won't always be fighting terrorists. It is also worth noting that there is a free download which adds an Expendables themed mission, it's only short but you can't argue with free now can you.

Summary

Broforce is a ridiculously fun game to play and the kind of game that is perfect for blowing off some steam after a hard day in the office. If you knuckle down you can finish it in one night, two if you take your time so in terms of size the Witcher 3 this is not. That said I don't think every game needs to give me endless hours of content. This game is a firecracker and one I shall play many times now I own it, there is also the added fun of playing with up to three other people in co-op mode.

I first played this game on PS4 and since then I have been waiting for a sale to pick it up on PC. There was slowdown on some levels with the PS4 version but this doesn't seem to be the case with the PC. So if you hadn't already guessed I love this game and cannot recommend it enough. It is wall to wall fun from start to finish and sometimes between the vast open world slogs of today's gaming landscape you need a good old school shooter to clear the air.

Thanks for reading my review for Broforce, I hope you enjoyed it and if there is a game you think I need to review please let me know at Riggedforepic@gmail.com You can also follow me @riggedforepic and find my YouTube channel under the same name.